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Film studios and record labels are attempting to deal with pirates as content consumption changes and opportunities to copy multiply. But television production companies seem to be reading from a different script.

John Logie Baird, a Scottish electrical engineer, demonstrated the first working television in 1926. The ‘Televisor’ transmitted a faint and blurred image using revolving discs made of wood, revolving shutters and light-sensitive cells. It proved that it was possible to transmit and reproduce movement. Soon after the demonstration, The Guardian likened the invention to “seeing by wireless” and reported that expert observers were satisfied that the “wonder” of transmitting images had been accomplished.

As the television’s popularity soared, so did the value of content and the importance of intellectual property to those involved with the technology. Production companies needed to protect the creative efforts that went into their TV programmes.

Endemol bills itself as the largest independent television and digital production company in the world. Formed in 1994, the production company is responsible for hit programmes such as Big Brother, Deal or No Deal, The Money Drop and Wipeout. It produces these shows for broadcasters around the world, using Endemol Worldwide Distribution to distribute finished programmes and Endemol Worldwide Brands to exploit its formats beyond their primary TV platforms in each territory.

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